LAGOS (Sundiata Scholar) – Some education stakeholders have advocated for urgent collaboration and policies to help reduce operational costs for private schools due to economic inflation in the country.They made the plea in separate interviews on Sunday in Lagos.
Mr Yomi Otubela, National President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), said that urgent policies would help subsidise access to teaching resources and lower taxes on educational materials.He added that the policies would provide concessionary interest rates on loans for members.
Otubela also called for partnerships to improve access to technology and considerable support grants from governments to private schools.“
We believe that considerable support grants from governments to private schools will place more private schools in good stead to reduce the over 18 million out of school children in Nigeria.”
He noted that many schools under the association were exploring flexible payment plans and working closely with parents to ensure that no child was left behind due to financial difficulties.Otubela acknowledged that it was a challenging time for everyone, including private school owners.
He said they were doing their best to maintain the balance between delivering quality education and being sensitive to the economic realities faced by
parents.“We also hope the government will increase funding for teacher training programmes and offer financial incentives for schools to improve infrastructure.“
This partnership will not only ease the burden on private schools but also ensure that Nigerian students, regardless of their background, receive a world-class education,” Otubela said.
Also speaking, Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, Deputy National President of NAPTAN, appealed to the federal government to revisit the petroleum Act.
He urged the government to reverse the fuel price hike, which had caused financial constraints in the country.“
Government should endeavour to make some sacrifices to enable the people live up to their responsibilities over their wards.“Governments should understand that schools must resume and children have to go back to school, they should do everything possible to ease the burden on parents,”he said.
Some parents in Lagos, who also spoke with correspondents, expressed their concerns about the high cost of school materials and fees.One of the parents, Mr Segun Olayode, a medical scientist, said he had to work harder to pay the extra money added to his children’s school fees.
Another parent, Mrs Tolani Odofin, a civil servant, said she could no longer afford the increased fees and would have to enroll her children in another school.“The school authority sent us notice during the holiday attributing the reason to state of the economy.“
My husband and I have resolved to enroll them in another school because we cannot afford the new fee, from N65,500 each to N95,500, even prices of stationaries have gone up,”
she said.Benedicta Uduak, a businesswoman and single mother, complained that the cost of living had affected every aspect of life, and feeding had become difficult.(NAN)